[LFP][FREE] Time Check - Thursday or Friday 11am EST

Hi. I am checking the feasibility of running a shorter weekly game session on Thursdays or Fridays at 11am EST for about two or three hours. My idea is to run a short adventure/mission (maybe 3-5 sessions) to get started and to see if there is enough interesting (and connection between players) to try a longer campaign. I'm a long time GM of various systems and have no problem trying something new if it sounds interesting.  I strive for games that are RP focused with character driven stories, and are not just basic dungeon crawls where players move from room to room, killing and looting. If the time might work for you, post a comment and let me know what type game you are looking for. Keith

I would be interested in the concept. Generally what I would be looking for is something where I could feel awesome and accomplished as things progressed. I want to achieve my character's goals, whatever those might be. If that is a wizard collecting lore in his quest for immortality and an army of skeletal servants to see to his whims, awesome. If is a shapeshifter whose concerns don't extend beyond enjoying good company in the moment and seeing others happy, great. If it is a teenager whose biggest concerns are its grades and social standings, that's great drama too. What I build depends on the system and the other people there, but I want them to be good at what they do and to be able to take pride in themselves and joy in their successes. I want to build an awesome, but generally positive story. Setbacks are fine, but if it starts feeling like a long downward spiral, or everything I want feels unachievable, then that is a problem. That being said, what I want could indeed be unachievable within the game. Using the wizard example. I would likely never get immortality or the entire army of undead, but as long as I felt like I was making progress, I would be happy. Getting a little less general and trying to offer more concrete ideas. I have wanted to give a character idea I've had for Beast: the primordial a try for a while now. That can be a very rp heavy game if done right and might be your style as Chronicles of Darkness tends to be very much for character driven stories. Hensin! is also good for character driven stories if you're into power rangers and the like and has reasonably easy rules. It would also be reasonably easy to do a short mission with to get a feel for the group. Lords of Gossamer and Shadows is extremely character driven and can be awesome if you can find people who play it. I'm also always up for the more popular things like D&D and pathfinder. Those are just a matter of making sure that the people you have are focused on character driven stories. They put a greater focus on killing monsters and getting loot, mechanically, but it doesn't stop anyone from making more character driven stories. Swashbucklers of the 7 skies has a cool setting and reasonably loose mechanics and very much tends to focus on the characters driving the story. At the end of the day. I am reasonably flexible on systems as well, available at that time, would love a more character driven story, and interested in the idea. The rest of what has been written is mostly just me building on that concept as you weren't specific as to what you were looking for, but the core of what you have stated you want matches up with the core of what I would enjoy. I would love to be kept in mind for this if it gets off the ground.

Robot, thanks for your response.  You hit on a lot of great point.  The player characters are the heroes of the story.  They should be awesome and special.  Even someone who is playing a farmer caught up in events beyond his experience is going to have things he is good at and will have moments where he’ll excel. And, I think it’s important for the group to have a common goal, but also for each character to have goals that they are working toward.  That allows the story to be dynamic, and not just driven by the GM reading descriptive text to everyone. As a group, I would like to come to a consensus on overall theme. I’ve been toying with the Decuma card system for world and campaign building. It uses tarot cards to help the group to fill in the blanks of the setting and the world. It seems like a good approach to breaking the ice with a group that hasn’t played together before and creating a common bond that brings their characters together. As a GM, I see my duty as setting the stage for the players and creating a starting point. What happens next is really determined through game play.  If we get enough interest this week, maybe we could for a session zero (pre-session zero???) on Friday the 15 th .

The 15th works just fine for me. I am unfamiliar with Decuma, but would love to know more, and based on what I've quickly looked up, it does seem a good way to break the ice and what not.

Keith K. said: Stuff about the campaign I would absolutely love to join a session at this time and date. Roleplay focus with a bit of combat is a perfect style. Not a fan of cards or card-based systems, but pulling inspiration from other settings, fictional worlds, is an excellent way of building worlds - so long as you don't only pull from one, and manage not to pull from too many somehow. The kind of character I'm currently interested in playing is a Fire Genasi monk who was raised by human raiders who adopted her as a war orphan, and whose warrior culture she has thoroughly adopted herself.  Getting to play a proud warrior with a lust for life, seeking glory for the name of her clan? I love that sort of character. In any case, if you're looking for players for a character story and roleplay, I'd be happy to join you. Ignise, 25, UTC (UK).

Ignise, Sounds great.  Love the character concept. The decuma cards are something that would probably be used for about 20 minutes during session zero. Cards are divided into three decks - relationships, location, and group dynamics. Each player draws 2 relationship, 2 location and 1 group dynamic card and answers the question on the card (or discards the card and draws another if the question doesn't fit the group or player).  I picked it up after listening to a walkthrough on The CritShow podcast. It looked like a great way to flesh out an area to be what the players imagined, interconnect the backstories of the characters and create hooks that the gm can use later.  Plus, it use tarot cards, which I thought was pretty cool. Keith

I'm setting up a discord channel to make it easier to brainstorm about the game.

Quick question, what system are you using?

Robert E, I believe we will be using 5E.  Do you have a system preference? 

This all sounds amazing. I love character building and development. I have a couple of character ideas. My main right now is a Tiefling Rune Knight, who's on the search to prove she's not the fragile/weak baby she was born. As well as possibly find a partner to appease her noble father as she's the only daughter and next heir. (She's rejected all who came for her hand, so she wants to find someone worthy.)

no, was hoping for 5e actually, sounds like fun. if you're still looking for players I'm interested.